Stomping Grounds 2019 Review

Sunday, June 23rd, 2019
Tacoma Dome
Tacoma, Washington

Both the name and the card for this show have been scrutinized and deservedly so. I can't help but think that the card on this show is actually flawed due to the fact that the WWE has actually given us too many champions that we want and, as a result, are now giving us challengers that we don't want. I don't think it's some hidden agenda or some conspiracy theory, but honestly just about every champion is a favorite of the most vocal part of WWE's audience. Just my two cents (probably worth less than that).

Raw Women's Championship Match
Becky Lynch vs Lacey Evans

I haven't been overwhelmed with Evans' in ring talent, but I like that she is a clear cut character that separates her from the rest of the Womens division. As long as you are competent enough in the ring, there is always a place on the roster for women like that. Kevin Dunn seems to be purposely using lots of wide shots of the audience after all of the posts on Twitter of how poorly tickets were selling. Lynch's hair or something looks a little different to me tonight. I'm also a little surprised that this is the opener. I would think the Bayley/Alexa match would be a better choice, but we'll see where they go with the finishes to both matches. Evans not off to a great start here as her timing is just off. Evans wraps Lynch around the ring post by pulling her hair and her leg. Evans is working on the ribs and arm of Lynch and then follows it up with a nice shoulder tackle. Becky does a nice roll through from Evans' shoulder into the Disarm Her, but Evans is able to get out. Lynch busts out the Mandible Claw, which I can honestly say I'm not sure I have seen anyone other than Mick Foley use. Beck-sploder suplex gets her a nearfall. Lynch misses a leg drop from the second rope and Evans tries an elbow drop, but Lynch gets her knees up. Evans hits a springboard Stunner and then a kick and almost gets the victory. Lynch gets her back into the Disarm Her and Evans instantly taps and Lynch retains her title. That wasn't terrible or anything, but the chemistry was just not there tonight. It might be time for Evans to focus on building her character back up and working on her in ring skills.

Match Rating: ** (out of 5)

I'm not sure if this is something they have been showing on the weekly TV, but we get a superhero type of promo for Ali.

Paul Heyman is shown coming out of Baron Corbin's locker room. Heyman says a whole bunch of nothing and then Baron Corbin makes a line that is sexual harassment. Not a good segment.

Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens vs. New Day

Sami has a bit of a Jeff Hardy vibe with the awful dancing going on. Owens instantly superkicks both Big E and then Woods multiple times. Frog Splash by Owens and almost gets the victory. I like them shaking up the tag formula a bit here by having the heels start aggressively instead of the usual back and forth or the faces overcome the early adversity before the heels get their heat. Zayn puts Woods in the Crippler Crossface for a good amount of time before getting out, but Zayn is able to grab his leg so he can't make the tag. Woods finally makes a tag and hits a couple of belly-to-belly suplexes. Woods tries to put Big E on his back and gets him the up the second time and slams him on Zayn. Zayn gets out of the Big Ending and then gives Woods a big boot. Helluva Kick by Zayn and then pop up powerbomb by Owens but Big E makes the save. All four men are in the ring and down after hitting each other with big moves. Big E nails Zayn with a spear through the ropes to the floor. Woods goes up top, but Owens knocks him off and hits the Stunner for the much needed pinfall victory. That was a really entertaining match featuring four guys who both deliver as characters and as in ring performers. There's a reason the crowd reacted to this match and it's because they care about all four men. Nice match.

Match Rating: ***3/4

Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross are shown in the back talking about how they know Bayley for who she really is.

United States Championship Match
Ricochet vs. Samoa Joe

Well, I still haven't gotten the epic Rey Mysterio vs. Samoa Joe match I have wanted, so hopefully this makes up for it. I wouldn't be all that mad if they did a similar match to the Samoa Joe vs. Chris Sabin match from early on in Joe's TNA run. I haven't seen a ton of TNA stuff, but that match was a standout of the shows I have seen. Joe is just absolutely in the zone now. I would say he is doing his best work since joining the WWE, including his NXT work. I can't say this enough. If Ricochet is not in a main match by WrestleMania, WWE is incompetent. Ricochet early on is giving Joe everything he can throw at him and Joe just not having it. After nearly getting knocked out cold by some right forearms, Ricochet is showing some signs of life and knocks the big man down with a huge kick. Huge leap over the ropes by Ricochet and he follows it up with a springboard missile dropkick and then a springboard moonsault for a 2 count. Ricochet goes back up top, but Joe charges so Ricochet leaps and rolls through, which leads to a powerslam by Joe. German suplex by Joe and then a huge clothesline and somehow Ricochet kicks out. Joe gets Ricochet in the Coquina Clutch, but Ricochet is able to get out. Ricochet again rolls through off the top rope as Joe moves, is clotheslined but half lands it and is able to go up top and hits the 630 and Ricochet is your new United States Champion! I feel like this match had a few more minutes left in it and we could have been looking at a classic. However, this was really another good match. I'm happy for Ricochet, but looking at the big picture, I'm not sure how I feel about so many faces having championship belts.

Match Rating: ****

Ricochet gets a hero's welcome backstage including a hug from Triple H. His character has to be one of the more confusing ones to casual fans.

SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match
Heavy Machinery vs. Daniel Bryan & Erick Rowan

I think this is the second Heavy Machinery match I have ever seen. Bryan is obviously the hometown favorite here and surprisingly he gives into the crowd cheering for him to be tagged in. This is kind of a tough spot for Heavy Machinery, so I'm curious to see how they do. Otis passes Bryan to Tucker mid-suplex in a unique move. Bryan is able to make the tag and Rowan quickly turns the tide. Otis gets the hot tag and it's with Bryan, so the crowd is booing. Bryan hits two running dropkicks, but Otis catches the third one and hits a sit down powerbomb for a 2 count. He misses a Vader Bomb and Bryan comes back with some Yes Kicks. Otis is doing whatever it is exactly that he does and catches a kick and suplexes Bryan. Otis does the worm and hits an elbow drop. Catapult double team, but Rowan saves Bryan. Tucker goes up top for a moonsault, but Bryan rolls. However, Tucker's legs still accidentally sort of hit Bryan. Both men make tags and they slowly walk in for a hoss fight. Both men hit each other with clotheslines, but neither men budge. Blind tag by Bryan and he pulls down the top rope causing Tucker to spill to the outside. Bryan goes for a suicide dive, but he is greeted with a forearm from Tucker. Tucker takes out Rowan on the outside. As he comes back in, Bryan gets a small package and gets the victory. That was really smart booking here. With the SmackDown tag team division as weak as it is, they needed to make Heavy Machinery here without taking the belts off of Bryan and Rowan. Mission accomplished.

Match Rating: ***

SmackDown Women's Championship Match
Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley

The announcers are hyping up the new Bayley and she shows off some of the aggression early on. Bliss turns things around in a hurry by slamming Bayley's face into the second turnbuckle. Bayley makes her comeback and hits her own version of Rolling Thunder with an elbow drop. She goes off the ropes again and Bliss nails her with a stiff forearm. Bayley still fights back and misses up top, but Bliss moves, but Bayley counters Alexa's attempt and hits a knee. Bayley goes for the leaping kick through the bottom rope, but Alexa avoids it and slams Bayley's shoulder into the post. Both women are being a little bit more ambitious than the opening match. Some of it is working, some of it has just looked okay. Sunset flip bomb by Bayley into the turnbuckle. Nice move there. Bayley then hits a suicide dive on Nikki Cross instead of Bliss. On the replay it shows that Bliss pushed Cross to avoid it. Bliss then hits a Canadian Destroyer on the outside and rolls Bayley back in. She goes up top and Cross runs into the ring and distracts the ref. Bliss goes for Twisted Bliss, but Bayley gets her knees up. Bayley-to-belly and Bayley gets the pinfall. Cross immediately goes in the ring to check on Bliss and Bayley just gives her a little shove. Not sure I 100% get the finish, but the match was good.

Match Rating: ***1/4

They show some highlights of the 24/7 Championship shenanigans. They then show Ricochet taking photos with the United States Championship and the Good Brothers come up to him and then AJ Styles joins them and tells Ricochet he will see him tomorrow night.

Drew McIntyre vs. Roman Reigns

McIntyre runs up the ramp and attacks Reigns and they bring it to the ring. Reigns then launches himself over the top rope similar to the Undertaker. He almost overshot himself there, but McIntyre did a real nice job of keeping him safe. Reigns chases Shane McMahon up into the crowd and then leaps over the guardrail towards McIntyre, but McIntyre nails him with a forearm. Shane and McIntyre continue to use the numbers game to make sure McIntyre keeps in control. After a long heat segment, Reigns naturally is fighting back with a series of punches and kicks. Reigns hits a Superman punch on Shane. He then goes for a Drive By, but McIntyre moves and hits an Alabama Slam onto the announce table in a cool spot. McIntyre hits a superplex after sitting up in a tree of woe position, but only gets a 2 count. McIntyre misses the Claymore Kick, but Roman counters into a backslide for a 2 count. Headbutt by McIntyre and he goes up top, but is met with a Superman punch on his way down. After some back and forth big man moves, Reigns hits the spear, but Shane pulls the ref out of the ring. Shane takes about 5 minutes to take off his jacket and heads up top and hits(?) the coast to coast. They cut to the back angle, so I wonder if he actually hit that or not. McIntyre is only able to get a 2 count out of that. Reigns overcomes Shane and hits the spear on McIntyre and gets the 3 count. That was definitely a better match than their lifeless WrestleMania bout. Shane looks winded after about 2 minutes of cardio there. Not bad, but a few too many slows spots.

Match Rating: **1/2

WWE Championship Match
Steel Cage Match
Dolph Ziggler vs. Kofi Kingston

Based on the e-mail I got from WWE for this show, they made it look as if this were the main event of the show. Ziggler hits a nice dropkick and then tries a slingshot, but Kofi catches himself on the cage, but Dolph pulls him down. I wonder how many times these two have fought each other? They really need to find Kofi a good story. This one just sort of feels like another match and it has nothing to do with the action. Both men have looked good early on, it just doesn't feel like a main event program. Both men are on the top rope and Ziggler knocks Kofi off. Kofi sees Dolph trying to go over the top and he leaps up and now both men are on the top of the cage. They fight their way back down the top rope and then both fall to the mat. Kofi hits the SOS and Ziggler is barely able to kick out. Ziggler counters a Trouble In Paradise and they sell Kofi landing funny. Ziggler works on Kofi's leg. Ziggler hits a superkick and almost accidentally sends Kofi out of the ring. Kofi goes again for a Trouble In Paradise, but Ziggler again catches it as Kofi wasn't able to put as much momentum behind it. Zig Zag by Ziggler, but Kofi kicks out. Kofi blocks a superkick and grounds Ziggler with a front facelock. Ziggler continues to try to escape through the door, but Kofi is able to hang on. Ziggler continues to try to crawl out, but then Kofi runs and leaps through the ropes and hits the floor to get the victory. That was a unique finish. I'm not sure it did much for Kofi, but it was a good underdog finish. That was a solid match, but it never made it to that next level.

Match Rating: ***1/4

Kofi Kingston is interviewed up on the ramp with the rest of New Day. He says he has a lot of respect for Ziggler, but he said he would walk out of Stomping Grounds as the champion and that's what he did. I'm not sure what the point of that was?

We get an interview with McIntyre and Shane in the back. Shane tells Roman that he will be taking on both himself and Drew McIntyre tomorrow night on Raw.

Universal Championship Match
Baron Corbin vs. Seth Rollins 

Baron Corbin announces that the special guest referee is Lacey Evans. Corbin attacks Rollins from behind as he and Evans are arguing about the steel chair. Corbin hits Rollins with a couple of chair shots to the back. Evans now calls for the bell to start the match. Putting on Corbin on last when I can typically barely make it up for a main event is going to be a challenge for me. The announcers are trying their best to make it seem as if Rollins is in an impossible situation. Rollins makes a comeback and eventually slams him through the announce table. Rollins convinces Lacey to start counting. After 7 seconds, she starts stalling and then tells the ring announcer that there are no counouts in this match. Rollins goes for a suicide dive, but Corbin catches him and slams him on the hardest part of the ring. Rollins hits a splash and goes for the count, but Evans' shoulder is hurting after she counts to 2. Corbin grabs the chair and Evans announces that the match is now no disqualification. The crowd starts chanting for Becky. Rollins hits a Falcon Arrow on the chair, but Evans doesn't count it. Evans and Rollins face off and Evans slaps him. Evans slaps him again and here comes Corbin, who Rollins fights off, but Evans hits him with a low blow. Out comes Becky Lynch and she goes straight to Evans and takes her out. Superkick by Rollins and then the Stomp and we have a new referee and Rollins gets the victory. Well, that could have been worse considering it was Corbin. However, it was a little too long and not even Rollins can make Corbin interesting for that long. Lynch and Rollins embrace after the match and hold up each others arms. Lynch then smacks him in the butt and holds down the ropes for him to exit.

Match Rating: **1/2

Well, not many people were looking forward to this one and I think if you look at it from that perspective it over-delivered. However, with the exception of Ricochet winning the United States Championship, it will be as if this show never existed in about a month. There were two really strong matches with Ricochet/Joe and the New Day tag match, but the rest was mostly TV main event quality. With SummerSlam not that far away, they definitely need to turn the storytelling up a notch or two, because this sleepwalking through the summer stuff needs to end.

Overall Rating: 62%